IN THE CASE OF:  	Mr. 

      BOARD DATE:  	14 May 2014

      CASE NUMBER:  	AR20130015112
___________________________________________________________________________

Board Determination and Directed Action

After carefully examining the applicant's record of service during the period of enlistment under review and considering the examiner’s Discussion and Recommendation which follows, the Board determined the discharge was both proper and equitable and voted to deny relief.




      
      
      Presiding Officer
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Department of the Army Discharge Review Board in this case.

THE APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND STATEMENT:

1.  The applicant requests his under other than honorable conditions discharge be upgraded to honorable.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he would like to request an inquiry into his discharge from the 304th MP BN on July 26, 2011.  He does not believe that proper procedure was followed in the process of his discharge.  He never received notice of his discharge from the reserve unit.  He has requested information from the unit and also from the National Personnel Records Center.  They have no record of any notice of discharge either before or after his discharge.  He has also spoken to a JAG officer at Fort Campbell and was told that there should have been some kind of notice that he was in the process of being discharged so that he had a chance to disagree with any reason they had for discharging him.  That never took place and there is no record of a letter being sent to him. 

3.  He had numerous issues while in the unit including not being told when battle assembly was, and they refused to send him to school to retain his EMT license in order to keep his MOS as a health care specialist.  They eventually stripped him of his MOS because he no longer had an EMT license.  He feels the Unit completely failed to hold up their end by not sending him to the proper schools.  He was given an under other than honorable conditions discharge and reduced in rank from an E3 to El.  He is also being told he has to pay back his signing bonus.  He is requesting a formal inquiry to hopefully get his discharge changed to honorable because he would like to re-enlist in another branch of the military.  He is also requesting that his rank be reinstated to E3, not having to pay back his signing bonus and to get the payments back that he has made to the Treasury Department to pay back his bonus.  He really would appreciate any help you can offer in this matter.  

DISCHARGE UNDER REVIEW INFORMATION:

a. Application Receipt Date:			15 August 2013
b. Discharge Received:			Under Other Than Honorable Conditions
c. Date of Discharge:				26 July 2011
d. Reason/Authority/SPD/RE Code:		Unsatisfactory participation, AR 135-178, 								Chapter 13, 
e. Unit of assignment:				304th Military Police Battalion, Nashville, TN
f. Current Enlistment Date/Term:		USAR/6 December 2007, 6 years
g. Current Enlistment Service:		3 years, 7 months, 21 days
h. Total Service:				3 years, 7 months, 21 days
i. Time Lost:					None
j. Previous Discharges:			None
k. Highest Grade Achieved:			E-3
l. Military Occupational Specialty:		68W1O, Health Care Specialist
m. GT Score:					NIF
n. Education:					14 years
o. Overseas Service:				None
p. Combat Service:				None
q. Decorations/Awards:			NIF
r. Administrative Separation Board: 		NIF
s. Performance Ratings:			None
t. Counseling Statements:			NIF
u. Prior Board Review:				No
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:		
	
The applicant enlisted in the Army Reserve on 6 December 2007, for a period of 8 years, while 6 years will be as an assigned member of a troop program unit in the Selected Reserve and 2 years as an assigned member of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR).  He was 24 years old at the time of entry and had 14 years of education.  His record does not contain any significant awards or acts of valor and at the time of separation the applicant had completed 3 years, 
7 months, and 21 days of military service. 

SEPARATION FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES:

1.  The applicant’s service record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to his discharge from the Army Reserve.  

2.  The available evidence in the record indicates that on 20 July 2011, DA HQS, 81st Regional Support Command, Fort Jackson, SC, Orders number 11-201-00075, discharged the applicant from the Army Reserve, effective 26 July 2011, with an under other than honorable conditions discharge.  

3.  The record contains a properly constituted order which indicates the applicant was discharged under the provisions of paragraph 13-1, AR 135-178, by reason of unsatisfactory participation, with a characterization of service of under other than honorable conditions.   

4.  The applicant’s available service record does not contain any evidence of unauthorized absences, time lost or any recorded actions under the UCMJ.  

EVIDENCE OBTAINED FROM THE APPLICANT'S RECORD:

1.  A separation Order number 11-201-00075, dated 20 July 2011.

EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT:

The applicant provided a DD Form 149 dated 11 August 2013, in lieu of a DD Form 293, and a self authored statement. 

POST-SERVICE ACTIVITY: 

The applicant did not provide any with the application.  

REGULATORY AUTHORITY:

1.  Army Regulation 135-178 governs procedures covering enlisted personnel management of the Army Reserve.  Chapter 13 provides in pertinent part, that individuals can be separated for being an unsatisfactory participant.  Army Regulation 135-91 states that a member is an unsatisfactory participant when nine or more unexcused absences from scheduled drills accrue during a 1 year period and attempts to have the Soldier respond or comply with orders or correspondence have resulted in— the Soldier’s refusal to comply with orders or correspondence; or a notice sent by certified mail was refused, unclaimed, or otherwise undeliverable; or verification that the Soldier has failed to notify the command of a change of address and reasonable attempts to contact the Soldier have failed.  Discharge action may be taken when the Soldier cannot be located or is absent in the hands of civil authorities in accordance with the provisions of AR 135-91, paragraph 2-18, and Chapter 3, section IV, of AR 135–178.   

2.  Army policy states that an under other than honorable conditions discharge is normally considered appropriate; however, a general discharge under honorable conditions or an honorable discharge may be granted.  

3.  Possible characterizations of service include an honorable, general, under honorable conditions, under other than honorable conditions, or uncharacterized if the Soldier is in entry-level status.  However, the permissible range of characterization varies based on the reason for separation.

ANALYST’S DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The applicant’s request for an upgrade of the characterization of his discharge was carefully considered.  However, after examining the applicant’s available record of service and the issues submitted with the application, there are insufficient mitigating factors to merit an upgrade of the applicant's discharge.  

2.  The applicant’s record is void of the specific facts and circumstances concerning the events which led to the former Soldier’s discharge from the Army Reserve.  However, the record shows that on 20 July 2011, DA HQS, 81st Regional Support Command, Fort Jackson, SC, discharged the applicant from the Army Reserve, effective 26 July 2011, with an under other than honorable conditions discharge.  

3.  Barring evidence to the contrary, the presumption of government regularity shall prevail, as it appears that all the requirements of law and regulation were met and the rights of the applicant were fully protected throughout the separation process.  

4.  The applicant's contentions about the proper procedure were not followed in the process of his discharge; he never received notice of his discharge from the reserve unit; he has requested information from the unit and also from the National Personnel Records Center and they have no record of any notice of discharge either before or after his discharge; he has also spoken to a JAG officer at Fort Campbell and was told that there should have been some kind of notice that he was in the process of being discharged so that he had a chance to disagree with any reason they had for discharging him; that never took place and there is no record of a letter being sent to him were carefully considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence available in the official record to make a determination upon the applicant's quality of service.  There is no evidence in the record, nor has the applicant produced any evidence, to support a change to the characterization of service granted.  The applicant’s statements alone do not overcome the presumption of government regularity and the application contains no documentation or further evidence in support of this request for an upgrade of the discharge.  

5.  The applicant mentioned in his requests for a change to the characterization of his service in order to join another branch of the military.  However, at the time of discharge, the applicant received an under other than honorable conditions characterization of service.  Army Regulation 601-280 stipulates that an under other than honorable conditions discharge constitutes a non-waivable disqualification, thus the applicant is no longer eligible for reenlistment.  

6.  Additionally, in regard to the applicant’s request to have his rank reinstated and get the payments back that he has made does not fall within the purview of this Board.  The applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), using the enclosed DD Form 149 regarding this matter.  A DD Form 149 may also be obtained from a Veterans' Service Organization.  

7.  If the applicant desires a personal appearance hearing, it will be his responsibility to meet the burden of proof and provide the appropriate documents (i.e., the discharge packet) or other evidence sufficient to explain the facts, circumstances, and reasons underlying the separation action, for the Board’s consideration because they are not available in the official record.

8.  Therefore, based on the available evidence and the presumption of government regularity, it appears the reason for discharge and the characterization of service are both proper and equitable, thus recommend the Board deny relief. 















SUMMARY OF ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD HEARING:

Type of Hearing:  Records Review       Date:  14 May 2014       Location:  Washington, DC

Did the Applicant Testify?  NA 

Counsel:  None

Witnesses/Observers:  NA 

Board Vote:
Character Change:  0	No Change:  5
Reason Change:	0	No Change:  5
(Board member names available upon request)

Board Action Directed:
Issue a new DD Form 214:		No
Change Characterization to:	No Change
Change Reason to:			No Change
Change Authority for Separation:	NA
Change RE Code to:		NA
Grade Restoration to:		NA
Other:					NA




















Legend:
AMHRR - Army Military Human Resource Record	FG - Field Grade	IADT – Initial Active Duty Training	 	RE - Reentry
AWOL - Absent Without Leave	GD - General Discharge	NA - Not applicable	SCM- Summary Court Martial
BCD - Bad Conduct Discharge	HS - High School	NIF - Not in File	SPCM - Special Court Martial
CG - Company Grade Article 15	HD - Honorable Discharge	OAD - Ordered to Active Duty	UNC - Uncharacterized Discharge  
CID - Criminal investigation Department	MP – Military Police	OMPF - Official Military Personnel File	UOTHC - Under Other Than                           			               Honorable Condition


ADRB Case Report and Directive (cont)		AR20130015112



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ARMY DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD (ADRB)

CASE REPORT AND DIRECTIVE



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